Grief and Valor
by Sugar Spook
Summary: In preparation of the upcoming battle, Oktavia von Seckendorff must visit the barriers of her fellow witches to save her friend, and the Law of Cycles, from destruction. A small collection of fairy tales about each of the witches and their lives within their labyrinths. (Spoilers for Episode 8 and Rebellion Story).
1. Chapter 1

"Will you help us, will you fight?" said the Mermaid to the Butterfly.

The Butterfly sat atop a loveseat, petals scattered on her dress of fattened meat. She was a gruesome, lovely vision. The flesh of her face, covered in a thick coating of moss, hung like a curtain of primly groomed locks over her fanged maw. The strands would tremble every time the Butterfly took a heavy breath. Around her tendril feet, Adelberts, the Butterfly's bright eyed minions, danced happy jigs and tended to her sprawling array of flora. Every so often a few of the cuttleflies would break from their duties, picking out the most brilliant of rosebuds and placing them gently in the Butterfly's makeshift hair. In response, the butterfly would bashfully bow her head to thank them. The minions flitted and fussed around her, making sure her wings were not too dry or too oily, that the throbbing veins that spiderwebbed through her torso pulsated with vigor, all the while sighing and swooning over the privilege to dote on her. She was truly revered as the most beautiful of creatures within the confines of her Labyrinth.

The Butterfly made sure that the outer appearance of her home mirrored her own perfection. Posies, primroses, zinnias, and wisteria among other flowers all filled her Labyrinth. The Butterfly had planted them all, but had not tended to her garden in quite some time; all except the roses had wilted and rotted into dried and blackened husks. Their fragrances however, remained and were so sweet they could put one in a daze. The walls were lined with ribbons and a collection of moths were pinned like brooches to the inner walls. Her mustachioed familiars would dutifully trim the hedges of her vast Labyrinth, working in a conveyor belt fashion to further shield their princess from outsiders. The Butterfly's maze was her pride and joy, filled with tall winding walls strips of deadly thorns that ensured no stranger would ever trample the flowers in her garden, lest they prick their finger and become lost to the world forever.

"Not I," said the Butterfly in a voice as soft as dandelion fluff, but edged with bitterness, "for a true princess sits and patiently waits for strife to end. I will not risk the safety of my flowers just to help a silly nut. Besides, you were not invited to my beautiful garden; you cause destruction wherever you go! Just look at your tail!"

The Mermaid looked down at her magnificent length of a tail and saw dirt and dark petals sticking to the edges of her fin. How unfortunate. The Mermaid had long ago lost the ability to feel for others and didn't feel a twinge of shame for trampling romantic reminders, but risking the wrath of the Butterfly of the Rose Garden was never wise. "You have destroyed my daisies without even noticing! Trespasser, leave my garden at once!"

The Mermaid scowled. "Coward. You always have been, and you always will be. Fine, wither away in your garden. I suppose it can't be helped."

The Butterfly hung her mighty head in shame, but said nothing. She shifted uncomfortably on her loveseat, waiting for the Mermaid to take her leave. The Mermaid, finding no other reason to stay, silently obliged.

"Please, when you go, give a kiss to my Anthonies won't you? I miss them so..." said the Butterfly, her meek voice muffled by her mossy veil, but the Mermaid was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

"Will you help us, will you fight?" asked the Mermaid, whispering in the darkness. The Dustbunny made no reply except for painful groans as she writhed in the heart of her labyrinth. The faint light that shone in the maze illuminated the Dustbunny's hunkered form, crawling aimlessly from shadow to shadow.

The walls of the labyrinth seemed to be breathing. They would shrink in on the Mermaid and then release, creating an invisible pressure. She was sure that the shape of the Labyrinth was changing- she was sure of it. She couldn't be imagining it, could she? She could possibly imagine the soft caresses of shadowy fingers trailing over her tail. The pitter patter of paws echoed in the darkness, the only sign that the Mermaid wasn't alone with her thoughts.

"Please, won't you fight? The light should make you feel better." said the Mermaid, kindly. She did not wish to agitate the volatile nature of the Dustbunny. Deep within the Dustbunny's hands reached, probed, crawled to her until they cupped the Mermaid's face. She stroked the Mermaid's brow with her static fingers, the rough flesh felt like tiny shards broken glass on the Mermaid's papery skin, causing her to unintentionally shiver.

"Not I," the Dustbunny hissed, "Not I. Nott I. Gott. Gott ist tot."

The Mermaid had to leave, as her efforts to enlist another recruitment were fruitless. However, she was reluctant to leave the Dustbunny alone with only her jumbled thoughts to keep her company. But there was nothing she could do for her. The Mermaid pulled out of her grasp and swam towards the exit as the dark limbs reached out to her in confusion. "Then another day, perhaps. Maybe another day you'll come out and meet us all. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you in person."

But the Dustbunny, having reached out but feeling nothing, retreated to the furthest corner in the heart of her maze. As the mermaid left the labyrinth, she could hear her host's gravely voice echoing in the distance. "Not you, not you too! Little fish, your head will be chopped clean, wiped clean away. It is safe in the darkness, stay with me..."


End file.
